


The Journey to Sheffield

by AchillesMonkey



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Hunter's a Harry Potter nerd, Huntingbird Valentine Exchange, Strangers to Lovers, Swearing, background fitzsimmons, well more like
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 08:34:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9713585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AchillesMonkey/pseuds/AchillesMonkey
Summary: Written for the Huntingbird Network's Huntingbird Valentine Exchange.Prompt: on the way to their friends' wedding, Hunter's car breaks down and they have to do anything to make it in time meanwhile getting to know each other more and falling for each other (friends to lovers au)





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [amazingjemma](https://archiveofourown.org/users/amazingjemma/gifts).



> Happy Valentine's Day, amazingjemma! I hope you enjoy your fic!

When Fitz had asked if a biologist friend of Jemma’s could ride with him to the wedding, he’d been expecting someone a bit more like Jemma: small, mousy (not that Jemma was in any way mousy), maybe wearing glasses—definitely not the most beautiful woman Hunter had ever seen. Bobbi, she was called. A name, she had explained in clear distaste, which was usually short for Robert, but in her case, it was short for Barbara. She was tall, blonde, and dressed in a jeans and a Star Wars t-shirt. She was perfect.

“How’d you meet Jemma?” Hunter asked as they drove along the M1 toward Sheffield.

“We were lab partners at university,” Bobbi answered. “How did you meet Fitz?”

“At a birthday party, for Mack. Do you know Mack?”

“Jemma’s mentioned him a couple times, but I haven’t met him yet.”

“He and Fitz work together.”

An awkward silence fell and Hunter frantically wracked his brain for something clever to say. Normally he had no problem keeping up a steady stream of chatter, but being around Bobbi had driven away all of his babble. He noticed his petrol tank was getting close to empty. “I need petrol,” he told her, and pulled off at the next service station. He turned off the engine and got out.

Bobbi got out as well. “I’ll be right back,” she told him.

Hunter couldn’t help but watch the sway of her hips as she walked toward the building entrance. _Fuck_ he thought to himself as he put the nozzle into the tank.

Bobbi came back out with a drink in her hand just as he finished filling the tank. They got into the car and Hunter turned the key, only to hear the one sound he did not want to hear: the sound of the engine turning over. “Fuck,” he muttered, and tried again to start the car. He tried again and again and a final time with no success. “Fuck!” he yelled, smacking the steering wheel with his hand.

“Do you have a spark tester?” Bobbi asked. “We can figure out what’s wrong and fix it.”

“The fuck’s a spark tester?” Hunter asked.

Bobbi looked at him like he was an idiot. “It tests if the engine is sparking when you turn it on. Aren’t you friends with a mechanic?”

“What, so just because Mack’s a mechanic I should know all about cars?” Hunter retorted. “I bet you know all about chemistry just because Jemma’s a biochemist.”

Bobbi rolled her eyes. “Well you just got fuel, so you’re probably good there. It could be the battery, but—”

“We don’t have time for this!” Hunter interrupted her. He checked the time on his phone and showed it to Bobbi. 15:27. “The rehearsal starts at six, and Jemma made some very scary threats about what she would do if I was late, so we can’t just get there on time, we have to get there early to prove to Jemma that I’m not some no-good loser friend of Fitz!”

“Okay,” Bobbi said softly, smiling gently at him. “What’s the plan?”

Hunter rang for a taxi and they pushed his car to a parking spot while they waited. It was a twenty-minute drive from the service station to the train station and Hunter squirmed anxiously in his seat the entire trip. Bobbi was taking the whole thing in stride, and looked completely unconcerned as she scrolled through her phone. _How can she be so fucking calm?_ Hunter thought to himself. _Is it because she’s friends with Jemma? I guess Jemma doesn’t threaten her own friends, only her soon-to-be-husband’s_.

They arrived at the train station and Hunter mentally thanked whatever deity was out there when he looked at the departures board and saw a train for Sheffield leaving in five minutes. He purchased two tickets at the ticket booth and they quickly hurried to platform two, hopping on seconds before the train closed its doors.

“So,” Bobbi said, grinning at him as they took their seats. “You’re scared of a tiny little scientist?”

Hunter scoffed. “Jemma may be small, but she can be terrifying when she wants to be. She’s like Hermione. You sign her parchment for Dumbledore’s Army thinking it’s just a harmless way of keeping track of membership, but then you learn she hexed it to give a traitor boils. And she works really hard to stop Buckbeak from being executed and next thing you know she’s punching Malfoy in the face.”

“You’re also a Harry Potter nerd,” Bobbi observed.

“Yep,” Hunter agreed, “and proud of it.”

“If Jemma is Hermione, does that make Fitz Ron?”

Hunter immediately shook his head. “No, Fitz is more like Neville; kinda quiet and shy at first, but not afraid to stand up for what he believes in.”

“So, Hermione and Neville?”

Hunter shrugged. “It’s not a perfect analogy.”

“What’s your House then?”

“Slytherin,” Hunter stated with a proud grin that immediately fell when Bobbi laughed. “I am! I did the quiz and everything!”

“No, dear, _I_ am a Slytherin,” Bobbi said, smirking at him. “You’re definitely not a Slytherin. I think you’re a Hufflepuff.”

“What!?” Hunter gaped at her. “A Hufflepuff? Me?”

“Yep.”

“Well that just proves you know nothing about me.” Hunter said.

Bobbi smiled at him, and reached out to place a hand on his knee. “Well, maybe you should prove to me just how Slytherin you are.”

Hunter gulped as his mouth went dry. “Er…” _Fuck, what the hell am I supposed to say to that? Think, brain! Damn it!_ Before he could say anything, Bobbi removed her hand and pulled a book out of her purse. He gaped at her as she ignored him and began to read. _Right, Lance, this is it. You’ve an hour and twenty minutes to impress her, so don’t fuck this up, mate._

He looked at the book she was reading, a biography about Peggy Carter, and grinned. “Peggy Carter, huh?”

“Yes,” Bobbi agreed, not looking up. “Jemma recommended it.”

“Any good?”

“She’s a fascinating woman,” Bobbi said. “A codebreaker turned field agent; she’s strong and independent in a time when women were expected to stay home, marry, and look after the children. I can see why Jemma admires her.”

“Mack and I have a bet that Fitz and Jemma name their first daughter after her,” Hunter said.

“Which side are you on?”

“I think they’ll name her after Peggy; Mack thinks they’ll name her after some famous scientist.”

“Do you make bets often?”

“Only when I know I’ll win,” Hunter said, winking at her. An amused grin appeared on her face and she raised an eyebrow at him. _Yes_ he thought _now I’m getting somewhere. Time to turn the charm on, Lance._ “Why don’t we make a bet?” he suggested.

“About baby names?”

“About us.”

“Us?” Bobbi questioned.

Hunter nodded and gave her his best smolder. “Yep. I bet I can get you to agree to go on a date with me by the time the reception is over.” Bobbi laughed at him. It started out as a simple chuckle and then turned into outright laughing at him. He pouted. “Oi! It’s not that funny!”

“Yes, it is,” Bobbi replied once she’d calmed down a bit. She let out another chuckle. “Because you’re going to lose that bet.”

“What? Why?” Hunter demanded. “Are you not into men? ‘Cause I’m totally fine with that, you know, but you’re sending mixed signals if you’re not, ‘cause it seemed like you were flirting with me—”

Bobbi cut him off by leaning in and kissing him. Hunter immediately shut up and began kissing her back. It was glorious and perfect and over with way too soon. Hunter couldn’t stop the irritated whine that left his mouth as Bobbi pulled away. “I _was_ flirting with you, dumbass.” She said, smirking at him. “And you’re going to lose the bet because I was planning on asking you back to my hotel room after the rehearsal dinner.”

Hunter gaped at her, at a loss for words. “Oh,” he finally said.

“Yep.”

“Erm, well, if you’re still offering, I accept.”

“Okay.”

Hunter grinned. “That’s one bet I’m happy to lose.”

“Well, you’re not really losing,” Bobbi said. “You’re just winning sooner than expected.”

“You really are a Slytherin.”

“And you’re such a Hufflepuff.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to everyone for reading, and thanks to those who leave kudos/comments! Feel free to check out my [Tumblr](unlessimwrongwhichyouknowimnot.tumblr.com)


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